Flash Reviews

This won't work in pre-2003 Sony devices, as Sony made a design mistake on original memory stick (and kept its consumers in dark). Neither would existing card readers work.

These sticks contain MagicGate protection. This means that you won't get even 488 MegaBytes of actual space from this 512 MillionBytes stick. MagicGate uses up significant space (40MB) and create all kinds of hassles in transfers of things like mp3's.

But wait that's not all, these sticks are kinda obsolete already. These won't work in any SonyEricsson cell phones or smaller Sony devices like Stick Walkman & newer U series Cybershot cameras.

If you want to invest in sticks buy a MS Duo Pro stick, the latest of half a dozen stick formats from Sony. (Soon most cell phones will have a slot for removable flash media) Or you can say no to all Sony devices and buy SD/MMC based gadgets to avoid all these hassles.

Are you kidding me? I don't understand how Memory Stick Pro is not compatible with my current Sony products? The new cards are finally offering me the capacity I need but I can't use them without upgrading product!! Can you spell F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-I-N-G!! Talk about getting left in the lurch. I have been a loyal Sony product buyer for years, but am thinking about making a switch. I did some research and it seems there are a lot more choices out there that support the same - if not more and better products - and the media capacity is just as good and works with all products available. I checked out a new Panasonic camera and a Palm that supports SD - I'm making the switch.

Don't think Memory Stick Pro format won't last if they keep this up.

I picked this up for use with my recently purchased Sony digital camera, and it works great. Unfortunately almost all Sony products manufactured before 2003 cannot use these new high-capacity Memory Sticks.

Another sticking point is that only 460MB is usable on this stick, losing a whopping 52MB to the file system and Magic Gate overhead. I also own a 256MB version, and that has 220MB free.

Write speeds are noticeably faster compared to the older Memory Stick media, as well as read speeds in my USB 2.0 reader. Luckily the price has come down on these, and if your hardware can support it, these new Memory Sticks are worth picking up.

Sony acts as if the ability to block MP3's is a virtue. Otherwise it functions like all of the other memory sticks out there.

The blue Memory Sticks by Sony or Lexar play MP3 files just dandy. I should know, I've owned a Clie the past 2 years and I have been enjoying MP3s on my 128 MB Memory Stick since I bought my Clie.

All you need to do is put the MP3s you want to listen to in the MSAudio folder on the memory stick. In fact, Sony's manual even gives instructions on how to do this! For the price of ONE Magic Gate Memory Sticks you can buy TWO blue Memory Sticks of equal size! Don't believe me, visit cliesource.com and ask all the Clie users there.

SONY has released MAGIC GATE for converting MP3 to ATRAC (especially designed by SONY for copy right control).
It stores up to 125 minutes with 132 bits recording on a 128mb MG memory card.
Everything went on fine until middle of 2003 when all CDs come with COPY RIGHT CONTROL. Then I have no more use for my MAGIC GATE MEMORY STICK. I think SONY should do something about this.
The only reason when MAGIC GATE MEMORY STICKS are more expensive than the blue ones is because SONY pays for the copy right.
Now, I don't know what will happen to all the NETWORK WALKMAN, or NETWORK MD WALKMAN. They won't be able to download from cds to their walkmans. What will happen to MG Memory Sticks?

OK, I don't typicaly sing the praises of wireless network cards -- I've had my share of frustration with them in the past (limited range, connection failures, etc.). But the SMC2642W is the best of any cards I've tried -- and that includes full size PCMCIA versions!

I originally order a Dell branded 802.11b card with my Axim X5. I could never get it to work even when standing next to the access point. So, back it went.

I little gun shy, it was a while before I risked trying another CF card. But a great deal on the SMC card convinced me to give it a try. Setup is a little complicated under PocketPC 2002, but this is not SMC's fault and I understand that PocketPC 2003 is much better in this regard. Even so, I was up and running in about 15 minutes.

This SMC card has yet to fail to connect from anywhere in the house (with SMC AP) or my office (with D-Link AP). I can connect much more easily than with my two PCMCIA cards (one of them also an SMC).

After the bad experience with the Dell card, this card is a joy to use. Also, it fits very nicely into the Axim without obstructing any connectors. Power consumption seems fine, although I usually unplug it when I don't need it.

Highly recommended (and I thought I'd never say that about an 802.11b card).

The card works great in my iPaq 3835 with the CF Sleeve. Installation was simple, and with the power save mode, I get about 3 hours of use from the battery in the CF sleeve.

Simply put, it doesn't work. I got this for my dad the christmas, along with a Toshiba camera, and new (128mb) smart media memory card. Being an aesthetic freak, i have to say that it does look kinda cool, but thats where my praise ends. Of course, it may be a defective one, but i've got to report on the one that I got. We're not really sure why it doesn't work, it could be the fact that the connector is really loose in the unit itself, or maybe the build quality is just bad. I really would not suggest you buy this, as it doesn't work (for me at least), and it just sems to ooze cheapness and poor build quality. Do ourself a favor and check out one either here, or try somewhere else, like Directron.com for a smart media specific one, its up to you.

Ok, the hardest part was opening the heavy duty plastic package. I read the first paragraph of the instructions, plugged one end of the USB cable into the unit and the other end into a USB port on my PC.

Windows 2000 immediately sprang to life, detected and set up the SmartDisk media reader in about 10 seconds. I looked at the diagram in the instructions to see how to orient the SmartDisk and put it in. When my PC still said to enter a disk, I realized I needed to push it in all the way, kind of like a diskette.

When I did that I had a 64 Meg removable drive online, and it is MUCH faster than the floppy disk adapter that I was replacing. I uploaded the pictures from my digital camera in about 30 seconds.

Thumbs up on this one!

I purchased this unit to facilitate the exchange of jpeg's between my Sony Digital Camara and my desktop PC. While you can read and write data to the Memory Stick Reader with the PC, when you attempt to download files created on a Sony camara it will give an error of "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable." The same files are accessible in my camara or Sony Notebook: they cannot be accessed with the SmartDisk Reader. My attempts with SmartDisk Technical Support were unsuccessful.

Don't purchase thid unit if you plan to use it with genuine Sony hardware.

works fine for me. i have a sony dsc-f717. i have used lexar, sony and sandisk without any problems.

I had the need for a product that could be used for: 1. playing MP3, 2. dumping photos 3.Viewing photos and 4. Portable data storage. Along with the Archos products this was the only device which can do it all. I selected this because I prefer the "gameboy" design since it protects the screen well. In fact, I was so impressed with the specs that I was prepared to pay about $170 shipping(to south africa) and run the risk of losing it since there is no support outside US/Europe at all. It all paid off(so far). Fortunately it arrived intact and I have had the device now for 3 problem free months.

It plays music with exceptional quality and photo dumping from all card formats are a breeze with the very flexible optional adapter. TV connection also works well. The video only supports Motion JPEG - MJPEG.AVI files. I have been able to look at .avi videos taken with a Canon camera successfully. However with a downloadeable translation tool from their web site, many other formats can be translated and it works. The translated video takes up a bit more space after translation. Since the device firmware can be upgraded, one hopes that they will come out with more video codecs. The only glitch i found is that the operating system can be very slow when you have large directories. With 80GB of dispace available, a directory can become too large very quickly. That requires a lot of organizing if you have lots of music to store. I also requested from the support people to confirm (before I ordered)whether I would be able to read a Memorystick Duo (with supplied adapter) but there was no satisfactory answer. Battery life is not great, about 3 hours when playing music only, but that should be expected for a device such as this. When only using it for dumping photos, it lasts for days.

A nice feature is that it can read .M3U playlists created on our PC and you can create playlists on the device itself.

An all in all impressive product which have given me countless hours of joy(so far) and I would recommend it for sure. In fact, I have not seen a device on the market yet for the price that can beat it.

-Easy User Interface. Plug and save for your compact flash card without having to turn the unit on if you are in a hurry.
-Nicely designed exterior and 3.5 inch display.
-The screen resolution in review mode wont allow you to determine sharpness absolutely but definitely will allow you to review pictures and show them to friends.
-There are smaller units out there but this is a nice compromise for size and functionality.
-This unit is a hard drive,so don't expect to take this running when you listen to you MP3 player.
-It has good sound quality when using headphones.
-My only complaint is the "case" is just a felt bag, I was expecting something more durable.

This media card reader does live up to all the good reviews it's gotten. The download time is fast and the usability/reliability is sound. The one drawback to this model is that it is a little too big and heavy.

This reader is great if:

1. You actually need to use more than just a compact flash or smartmedia card reader: this reader is also equipped to handle Memory Sticks, Secure Digital, MultiMediaCards, and IBM Microdrives.

2. You're planning on using this reader for your desktop and not a laptop.

This card may not be the best choice if you plan to travel (or just go mobile with your laptop) based on its size and weight.

No more loading drives for each different digital product with media! Pop in and it works great!

I bought this universal reader from Micro Center because it was on sale. I actually didn't even think it would work because it was a brand I hadn't heard of. HOWEVER. I am using Windows XP Pro and it works FANTASTIC!! I used to use my HP Photosmart printer to upload pictures and it would take FOREVER. This card reader opens my SmartMedia disk in seconds. Incredibly easy to install and an overall great product!!